Report: Melvin Guillard Suspended Eight Months by NSAC

UFC lightweight and The Ultimate Fighter 2 cast member Melvin Guillard, who tested positive for cocaine after his UFC Fight Night 9 loss to Joe Stevenson, has been suspended eights months and fined $2,100 (30 percent of his $7,000 purse) by the Nevada State Athletic Commission, according to MMAWeekly.com.

His disciplinary hearing took place this morning.

According to the report, Guilllard admitted to using cocaine six days prior to his April 5 main event and that he expected the drug to be out of his system in time for his fight.

The failed test capped off what had already been an embarrassing series of events for the once-promising lightweight. Prior to the UFC Fight Night 9 bout, Guillard accused Stevenson of being a human-growth-hormone user — an accusation he was later forced to retract. Then, in their nationally televised main event, Stevenson submitted Guillard via guillotine choke in just 27 seconds.

Guillard said, “I’ve only been introduced to drugs in the past year or so.” He added that he has only used drugs for recreational purposes, and that he does not have an addiction. Guillard did not specify which other drugs he has used, but he did state that he has never used performance-enhancing drugs.

Guillard said to the commissioners, “I made an honest mistake. I embarrassed myself, and I embarrassed my family.” Guillard said that the hardest part of the whole process was explaining to his mother what he had done. Guillard added that he has subsequently tried to put himself in a new environment with different people surrounding him and that he does not intend to use drugs in the future.

The suspension means that Guillard will fight no sooner than early December, and considering the UFC’s informal policy of giving its fighters second chances, his return could very well happen in the UFC.

The Team Punishment member is now 20-6-2 in his career, which includes a 3-2 mark in the UFC.

The Latest

Sure, UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey ran through yet another opponent in less than a minute, but that wasn’t the only story that mattered at UFC 190. Relive the memorable moments from Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena.

Since the early days when the sport was anything but a mainstream endeavor, the MMA industry has thrived and survived through various websites, forums and, perhaps most importantly, social-media platforms.

In this week’s Trading Shots, Danny Downes and Ben Fowlkes look at Ronda Rousey’s 34-second victory over Bethe Correia at UFC 190 and try to put it into terms that capture the moment without getting swept away by it.

A total of 26 fighters got their chance to shine on Saturday as part of UFC 190 at Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena. Now that UFC 190 is in the books, it’s time to commence MMAjunkie’s “Three Stars” ceremony.

The man known for cranking submissions to the point of injury added eye-gouging to his repertoire. But is the controversy of Rousimar Palhares too essential to his bizarre, awful appeal for his employers to take any meaningful action against him?